RAILBIRDS

Being a Railbird has changed my life and poker game quite dramaticaly.Now everyone here knows how I love my rb friends and enjoy the sillyness and the support we give each other.I am a proud member of the Dragon Clan and we're going through some growing pains right now but we're working towards becoming a closer smaller group with strong players.But I want to talk about the poker skill part of the Railbirds expierience.

When I came to Railbirds I was as green as could possibly be.I mean I sucked so bad I could stink up my table and the one next to me.And I still consider myself to be somewhere less than Phil Ivey when it comes to poker,But there's one skill that Railbirds has taught me that most of us have trouble mastering! I can do it now on ANY street,with ANY two cards,from ANY position,no matter what my chip stack is(big or small),or how much money is in the pot!! It is the NUMBER ONE most important poker skill any of us will EVER learn.It takes good judgement,good table reading skills and alot of humbleness to do sometimes!! It costs you alot of chips sometimes.More often it will GAIN you chips!!

And the answer is..........FOLD!!! The number one most important action at a table is fold!!! It took me FOREVER to get that one!! It looks like the wimpiest thing to do!! No one likes to fold every hand for 10,12,20 hands in a row!! But it's the most potent weapon you have!! Everything revolves around it at a table!! It establishes your table image!! It's how you manage your chip stack.And most important of all it preserves your tournament life and increases your opportunity to see a big hand with big profit when you DO have the hand!!

Secondly I've learned to play from POSITION. The importance of optimizing your profits when you're in position is critical!! Continuation bets at the right time and in the right position can profit you as much as hand selection. Early limps with marginal cards are the best way to bleed your stack especially early in a tournament when the looser players are calling or raising every hand with crap and then forcing you to fold when you don't hit the flop.

Poker,especially tournament poker is about survival!! The LESS hands you are involved in the less your chances of losing your stack is and therefore the GREATER your chances are that you make it to that monster hand and the cash!! It sounds so simple but stop and think of all the hands you've went out on lately and I bet you can find a point in the hand that it was marginal or you knew you were behind but you still didn't FOLD! Even though you knew your tournament life depended on it!! Players respect the FOLD much more than the bet!! Think about it!Are you more afraid of the most aggressive player at a table or the best FOLDER?????When a conservitave player at a table re-raises you,you usually respect it if you have a marginal hand.

I've just folded my BR from $10 to $20 dollars today.Now that may not seem like much to some here. I know RB's that wouldnt trouble with 8 hrs of grinding for ten bucks.But for those of us in the trenches trying to build a BR it's a major victory! That's what railbirds has done for me so far!! Along with making some of the nicest friends in the world that will stick with you through the worst,Railbirds WILL teach you some poker skills if you work the site!! Read the blogs review everyones hand postings and the comments.You can't help but learn from them.Watch the pro's on TV! Not to watch their play or huge bets or dramtic showdowns,but to watch them LEARN!!! The best players are STILL LEARNING!!! They talk about every hand.They study styles and talk about reads on players and hand situations. Poker is about study . Study poker skills,study the cards study the players.Glean as much information as you can before you take the test of poker.You will find yourself makking passing grades more and more often.......................DL